Audience Questions

Audience QuestionsHour 1

Florentina lost her home recently and wants to use Facebook to raise money to get into a new place. Leo says that Facebook is ideal for that because everyone is there and she can run her campaign directly from her feed. She should go to facebook.com/fundraisers. She can do everything from non-profit fundraising to personal campaigns for emergency purposes, which this certainly qualifies. Another option is GoFundMe.com.

Frank wants to get an inkjet printer, but he doesn't know if they're really worth the money. Leo says that while the printers themselves are cheap, the ink is extremely expensive. And he can't refill the cartridges because 1) they're messy and 2) they often won't work in the printer because of proprietary circuitry. It also affects the print head. So Leo doesn't recommend it. Frank could buy re-manufactured cartridges, but at that point, he may as well just bite the bullet and buy a new one. Plus, some cartridges replace the print head in the process. Also, if doesn't print a lot, inkjet printers will clog and that affects print quality. So if he prints occasionally, then a laser printer is a better option. The cost per page is also cheaper, but they don't do color very well.

Ellie bought a pair of Apple HomePods but she can't use them both in concert with her Apple TV. They won't pair. Apple says it's still in "beta." Leo says at $359 a piece, they shouldn't be in beta, that's for sure! Leo says that there are better options out there. HomePod is limited to just Apple.

Audience QuestionsHour 2

Louis is watching baseball games streaming online and sometimes the feed stalls. Leo says that's called buffering, and sometimes a packet drops and the feed will wait to see if it shows up out of order. Then it will insert it and move on. Sometimes, though, it just gives up and continues. There are some causes of this, including congestion from a wireless connection. But Louis can get a dual band router and use the 5Ghz band, or just connect to the router with an ethernet connection. The stream will be more reliable that way.

Randy has an old handheld computer and wants to know if he can sell it. Leo says that most old computers eventually become worthless as far as the market goes, but if it's a unique item, like one of the first computers sealed in a box, then it becomes kind of a museum piece. That could make it worth something. The original Apple 1, for instance, is worthless form a computing point of view, but from a nostalgic, historical point of view, it's worth about $300,000 right now.

Check eBay under the completed listings. That will tell him what he can get for it.

Sandy bought a used computer from a guy, and it's filled with software. Is that legit? Leo says that chances are, the computer hardware is fine, but it will be filled with pirated software that she doesn't have a right to or paid for. And chances are, it'll be a timed trial that will stop working down the road. That's a drag, especially if the timed software is Windows itself. But by then, the guy is gone. And he may also have hidden key loggers and stuff.

Sandy should format the hard drive and install Windows 10 back on it and start from scratch. To make sure it's authenticated, she should type Windows Key plus X, select "system", and see if it says "Windows 10 trial." If it does, then she's going to run out of time and it'll stop working. She would have to buy Windows 10 and reinstall it. If it doesn't, then she owns Windows with that computer and she can just format the drive and reinstall.

Sandy should Google "Windows Media Creation Tool", and then she can download a copy of Windows and put it on a USB key to install it.

Audience QuestionsHour 3

Robert is concerned with password security. How secure is his Windows login? Does it have to be really crazy difficult? Leo says that it's safe enough for his own use. Networks are protected by the router, which has a separate password. The more unique, the better. But his Windows password is fine unless someone gets physical access to the computer. Leo prefers to use a password manager, though. It's secure everywhere. What about a browser password vault? Leo says that all browsers now use encryption, so they're safe. But he should have 2 factor authentication setup just in case.

Tom is buying a new TV today and wants to know what to get. Leo says it depends on his budget. If he's spending a few thousand, then OLED is the way to go. Better yet, he should get a larger size than he would think. If he's at less than a 10' viewing distance, 55" is OK, but Leo likes 70". HDR makes a significant difference if he likes to watch movies. 4K, for sure. But everything else in the chain has to be 4K HDR in order to get the benefit.

Samsung's QLED is NOT OLED. It's a standard LCD screen made by Samsung, and it's confusing. He'll also want to get full array local dimming (FALD) if he can't afford OLED. The LG B7 is an excellent TV.

Bob is looking for software that can test all his network switches to see which is going bad. Leo says that there is an article on Tom's Hardware on how to test network switches. That includes some software to test it. GL Communications makes software ethernet and packet checker called Packet Check.

Bob is also wondering if a mesh router would work well for gaming. Leo says that there are routers designed for gaming, which prioritize QOS (quality of service). They have custom settings for it.

John's friend got bit by the popup that said she had a virus and then when she called "Microsoft support" they wanted $300 to fix it. Leo says it's a phishing scam. And once you give someone access to your computer, not only will they not fix anything, but they make the infection even worse by installing other malware. The only way forward now is to backup the data, format the hard drive, and then reinstall Windows.

Earl has an iMac and a Samsung phone. He's getting email from someone he just had a conversation with via email, though it isn't him. Leo says it's possibly being spoofed, where the sending address has been added using his own contacts. Check the headers. Chances are, it's just spam.

This Week in Tech News

There's a huge security flaw in WINRAR, that will enable hackers to take over your computer. So Leo advises that if you use WINRAR to zip/unzip your files, that you should update to the latest beta version. But you have to go to the WINRAR site and manually download the update. There is no automatic update.

Accusing Apple of anti competitive behavior, Spotify's music streaming service says that the company charges a 30% commission for subscriptions through the Apple store, while charging 30% less for their own music service.

Leo bought the Samsung Galaxy S10+, a phone with 10TB of storage, 12GB of RAM, and a ceramic back. For $1500. Leo says it's a really nice phone. Reviews are mixed, but buyers seem to like it, with preorders doubling the last generation. Samsung has avoided "the notch," but instead, they have a "hole punch," which houses two selfie cameras. Is that any different than the notch? Not really. It's also nearly as big as the Note 9 and has the best screen on the market. But Leo says it's so fast that it's hyper-responsive. It reacts to being touched on the edge. It also has three cameras on the back. It also has an under-screen fingerprint ID, which isn't very fast and requires a little patience. AND IT HAS A HEADPHONE JACK!

In a new announcement, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that Facebook is moving towards a more privacy-focused experience, including encryption, private groups, and more. Zuckerberg admitted that Facebook doesn't have a reputation for security and privacy, and they plan to change all that. With sharing on Facebook going down by 25%, especially with younger users, Zuckerberg says that the social media network is going to move from a town square, to your own living room. It's a serious PIVOT. Leo says that Zuckerberg has made promises like this before, so we'll have to wait and see what happens. Is it possible to have a privacy-focused Facebook? Only time will tell, but Leo says it's a good idea.